blunt, republicans, are -- i think that it's more important not to give more ground on taxes than it is to create certainty. so i think everyone agrees that uncertainty is a problem. i think basically everybody agrees that uncertainty is freezing businesses, a lot of businesses are sitting on huge amounts of cash, huge amounts of cash. that they're not acting on. but the problem is, that republicans just don't want to budge from their position on taxes, and i think the president, my own analysis, had been more flexible. but they would say the president cares more about protecting entitlements fully. uncertainty is a problem but not a bigger problem than the priorities of the republicans in particular. and also the democrats' entitlements. so i don't think we get a deal in the near future. >> well, that's not encouraging. and you've got these numbers, and jay carney asked to explain yesterday about the president's jobs council and said it had this two-year charter and expired and they'll continue to reach out to business leaders in had other ways. but karen, is this bad timing? >> yea